Accessibility Resources

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental values at Virginia Commonwealth University, and we are committed to providing access to individuals with disabilities to our programs, activities and services, including courses and websites. Whether you’re a student who needs extra time on an exam, a visitor looking for accessible parking or a staff member who requires accommodations to perform essential functions of your job, we offer resources to ensure you can take advantage of all that VCU has to offer.

Getting around campus

All VCU shuttles are accessible, and VCU Parking and Transportation provides maps of accessible parking.

Requests for housing accommodations: Students requiring accommodations based on a medical, psychological, physical or disability related impairment may fill out this form to request special arrangements and accommodations.

Resources for employees with disabilities

ADA Services provides resources and support for employees with disabilities consistent with state and federal law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also collaborates with the Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity office, the Division for Academic Success and departments across the university to ensure access to university programs, services and activities.

Academic technologies: The Learning Systems department provides workshops and consultations to help faculty use university-supported eLearning applications and tools, as well as recommendations for making course content accessible.

ALT Lab and Online@VCU: Through workshops, online resources and individual consultations, both groups provide specific pedagogically focused guidance for faculty teaching with technology and can assist with making course materials accessible.

Captioning: VCU provides guidelines, definitions and approved vendors to help employees caption videos and audio recordings so they are accessible to all users.

Procurement: VCU’s Office of Procurement Services can assist in identifying vendors who can meet accessibility needs and in creating appropriate agreements.

Resources for employees who create digital content

All public-facing VCU websites, including any web content, must comply with VCU’s web standards for accessibility, which follow the WCAG 2.0 Level AA accessibility standards. VCU provides specific guidance, training and technical assistance to the Web Users Group and Social Media Administrators Group through their meetings and listservs. Any unit with a website or social media account must have a representative in the appropriate group(s).

Captioning: VCU provides guidelines, definitions and approved vendors to help employees caption videos and audio recordings so they are accessible to all users.

SiteImprove: This software continually crawls and analyzes webpages for accessibility errors, broken links, and spelling mistakes; results are then summarized in a dashboard for helpful insight into fixing the errors.

Helpful links

Why give?

“As a young student, that recognition helped me realize that I had what it was going to take to pursue art as a career. I was able to focus on my art and academic work without the stress of worrying how I was going to afford tuition.”